Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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Chapter 318: The Altar (2)

***

As the sun began to set, Vahel visited the room where Dorugo was imprisoned.

Laria, who was guarding the entrance, immediately recognized Vahel and stood up.

"Oh, it's alright, you can sit. I just wanted to see that person's face."

Vahel gestured for Laria to sit back down and enter the prison.

Inside, Dorugo was lying unconscious and bound in chains. She really looked like a real skeleton.

"Hmm."

Vahel crouched in front of Dorugo. He pulled a small glass vial from his pocket.

A black liquid was swirling inside the vial. It was fresh, newly extracted dark mana.

Vahel poured the dark mana over Dorugo's head. As soon as it touched her, the dark mana began to be immediately absorbed.

A faint light flickered within her skull and Dorugo started to regain consciousness.

"Dorugo, I have something different to ask you today. Is that alright?"

Dorugo's head moved slowly. She lifted her head with difficulty and looked up at Vahel.

"Well, it's nothing big, but there's a question that I can't solve no matter how much I delve into your memories."

Vahel stared into Dorugo's eyes and asked.

"What kind of demon were you, exactly?"

The name Dorugo was quite famous among demons.

After all, it was Dorugo's betrayal that had led to the demons being trapped in Inferno.

But no one knew what kind of demon Dorugo actually was.

"It's strange. I clearly saw you when I was young. Not just me, but other demons as well."

Demons didn't age or die. Unless they died from external factors. In short, they lived for eternity.

Therefore, there were quite a few demons who had met Dorugo in person.

"But I don't remember what species you were or what powers you had."

Vahel had felt this sense of unease for not very long.

After coming to the surface world, he captured Dorugo and read her memories.

During that moment, he suddenly had a realization. The fact that he didn't know exactly what kind of demon Dorugo was.

And it wasn't just Vahel. It was the same for the other demons.

"The only thing I know is that you were a Duke class demon...but that's strange too. It doesn't make sense that the entire demon race would be thrown into Inferno because a Duke class demon betrayed them."

While there is now only one Duke-class demon, Vahel, that wasn't the case in the past.

There were seven Demon Lords, and under them were countless Duke class demons.

"What's even stranger is that no one has ever found this strange before. It's as if someone had hypnotized us."

Vahel grabbed Dorugo's head and lifted it. Dorugo was lifted helplessly by his hand.

"Dorugo, tell me. Who are you really?"

Dorugo's lips moved. Just as something was about to come out of his mouth.

- Your Highness!"

Asthar a bull's head demon entered the prison in a hurry.

"What's wrong?"

- We found the altar!

Vahel's eyes widened at those words.

"If what he said is true, then this isn't the time to worry about Dorugo."

Vahel put down Dorugo's head and stood up abruptly.

"This is excellent news. Let's move immediately. We need to break the Oath and free our kin."

A creepy smile crept across Vahel's lips.

The time had finally come to fulfill the long-held desire of the demons. Even Vahel couldn't help but feel excited.

"Your Highness, there's something else we need to address before that."

"Something?"

Asthar hesitated before answering Vahel's question.

"I think you should see it for yourself."

***

"This is insane."

Balhard was filled with despair as he watched the endless stream of demons.

Despite their large numbers, not a single one was a weak.

All of them were Count class demons, and several were even Marquis class.

They were more than enough to wipe out the entire surface world. Facing such a powerful force was madness.

"Damien Haksen! If you're going to die, why drag me into this?"

"Why are dragons so cowardly? In a situation like this, you should be rushing out alone, boldly claiming you'll handle everything."

"Is this the time for your stupid jokes?!"

Balhard shouted angrily. Damien's eyes turned sharp.

"You're getting too noisy. Should I kill you first?"

Balhard flinched as he felt overwhelming killing intent emanating from Damien. He cautiously changed his tone.

"Y-you're not wrong. How can we two possibly face so many monsters?"

"Yes, there are a lot of them."

Damien said and looked at the demons flying towards them.

Balhard wanted to punch him.

"Then let's reduce their numbers"

"Do you have a plan?"

"Of course. First, lend me your mana."

"...What?"

Balhard stared at Damien in confusion. Your mana? He wanted to give him his manar?

"You're a dragon, so you must have an abundance of mana, right? Give all to me."

"You seem to have forgotten... I'm a dragon."

"Who doesn't know that?"

Damien said condescendingly. Balhard was infuriated.

"A dragon's mana is dense and rough, and humans can't handle it!"

Unless they spent a long time continuously absorbing it.

It was impossible for a human to handle the raw mana of a dragon.

"I understand, so just give it to me. We need to finish this before those bastards get any closer."

"You don't seem to understand me."

Damien pulled a club from his subspace. Seeing it, Balhard screamed in horror.

"I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you!"

Balhard immediately canceled his polymorph and transformed back into his dragon form. It was much easier to manipulate mana in his original body.

Balhard activated his dragon heart and drew out his mana. The surrounding temperature rose sharply.

"I'll send it to you now."

"Alright."

Balhard felt angry again at Damien's consistently careless attitude.

'Don't blame me if you end up crippled!'

Balhard drew out as much mana as he could and sent it to Damien.

The magic that erupted from Balhard's body flowed into Damien.

***

‘As expected of a dragon.’

While absorbing mana from Balhard, Damien couldn't help but marvel at its quantity and quality.

Despite being treated like a two-legged lizard by Damien, dragons were undeniably the most powerful creatures.

"Let's combine this mana."

Damien activated the Five Wheel Harmonious Art.

As Balhard had said, the dragon's mana resisted fiercely, as if it resented being subjugated by a mere human.

But Damien's control was stronger than the dragon mana's resistance.

Damien's mana, the spirit energy emitted by the World Tree sapling, and the dragon's mana created a single wheel.

Unification.

The three energies merged into one. Damien raised his club high into the sky.

The unified mana gathered above Damien's head. Soon, it began to take shape.

- A human is manipulating dragon mana so skillfully?

Balhard muttered in astonishment, watching from the side.

Being a dragon, he could tell. Damien was not wasting a bit of the mana he had given him.

- What is he trying to create?

Soon, the mana formed a complete shape. Balhard's face went blank when he saw it.

- A club...?

A club as large as a mountain peak floated above Damien's head.

Bartholomeo, the First Holy Emperor.

Damien had once fought against his thoughtform and had acquired his skills and realm.

Bartholomeo's realm as a Grandmaster was ‘Gigantification’.

The ability to gigantify was simple.

The larger the thing is, the stronger and harder it becomes.

[PR/N- ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), Here we talking about aurablade.]

"Now, let's give it a try."

Damien swung the towering club downwards.

The club was large enough to block out the sky and fell towards the ground.

- Hey, hey, what's falling?

At first, the demons didn't understand the situation.

- What is that? I feel an immense amount of mana.

- Isn't it just a mass of mana?

- Then just ignore it and break through!

Even after understanding the situation, they didn't take it seriously.

Originally, mana became stronger when its density was increased.

Simply increasing the size like that was useless.

- Kill Damien Haksen!

- Kill the dragon too!

More than anything, the demons were excited at the moment.

- The speed is unusual…

- Something feels ominous...

But a few of them noticed that something was wrong.

- I think we should avoid it...

But it was too late.

The giant club struck the horde of demons.

Ultimate Bonk!

Whether they were flying in the sky or running on the ground, all the demons were struck by the club.

Dozens of demons were crushed at once.

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]